Generally speaking, according to one of the various existing contactless charging standards, such as the Qi standard developed by the “Wireless Power Consortium” (WPC) commonly known to those skilled in the art, a contactless (or wireless) energy transfer system comprises an emitter device comprising a resonant circuit generating a magnetic field via an inductive element, such as a coil, of the resonant circuit, the resonant circuit being, for example, driven by a pulsed power signal, and a receiver device comprising a receiving inductive element configured for sensing the magnetic field, a rectifier circuit and a filtering capacitor configured for delivering the energy received via the inductive element to an internal or external load.
With respect to a conventional wired system for energy transfer, such a contactless energy transfer system exhibits certain advantageous characteristics such as a compact size and a resistance to water and to dust, which are particularly advantageous for applications to portable electronic devices such as a “Smart Watch”.
In general, such applications also incorporate at least one loudspeaker for producing a sound. However, such a loudspeaker is commonly bulky in volume.
There accordingly exists a need to carry out a combination of such a contactless energy transfer system and of at least one loudspeaker in the applications of portable electronic devices in such a manner as to further reduce their overall size while at the same time conserving the advantageous characteristics.